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​Sustainable Development and Construction - Current Planning

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​Historic Preservation

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Demolition Delay Ordinance

Dallas City Council Adds New Tool to Historic Preservation Tool Box

On Tuesday, September 22, the Dallas City Council adopted a new ordinance that established provisions within the Dallas Development Code to allow for the creation of "Demolition Delay Overlay" districts. This was one of nine recommendations presented to City Council in June by the Downtown Dallas Historic Preservation Task Force. The ordinance provides that a building that meets certain criteria within a demolition overlay district would be subject to a 45-day delay before a demolition permit could be granted.

In addition to being in an adopted demolition overlay district, to be subject to the demolition delay a building would have to be at least 50 years old and meet one of six other criteria. The six criteria include; (1) being located in a National Register District; (2) designation as a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark; (3) designation as a State Archeological Landmark; (4) designation as a National Historic Landmark; (5) being listed as a significant building in the 2003 Downtown Dallas Architecturally Significant Properties Survey; or (6) being listed as a contributing structure in the 1994 Hardy-Heck-Moore Survey. Buildings in a city historic district, or buildings designated as a city historic landmark, are already protected from demolition without first obtaining a certificate of demolition from the City's Landmark Commission.

As an overlay in the Dallas Development Code, the overlays have to be established through the zoning process. This includes written notification to all property owners in the area being considered for an overlay and public hearings before the City Plan Commission and City Council. The City of Dallas City Plan Commission already initiated the process to establish the first two demolition delay overlays on July 23, 2015 when they authorized hearings to consider proper zoning on two areas. One of the proposed overlays would cover an extended central business district and the other would cover portions of North Oak Cliff. ​

On October 15, 2015 the City Plan Commission recommended approval of the two overlays. The City Council public hearing is November 10, 2015.

Historic and Architectural Resources of East and South Dallas (1990) by Hardy, Heck, and Moore. (Download PDF)

List of National Register Historic Districts, individual listings on the National Register of Historic Places, Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks, National Historic Landmarks, and State Antiquities (Archaeological) Landmarks (Download Excel Spreadsheet​)

Detailed information on National Register Districts and Properties, Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks, National Historic Landmarks, and State Antiquities (Archaeological) Landmarks is available at the Texas Historical Commission Atlas Website.